red clump algae

[rjf]

I've had a problem with a red hairy type algae that grows over my chaemetamorpha and gracilara in my refugium and frag tank. I don't really know what type of algae it is. I t also grows in my overflows but rarely makes it's way back to my main tank I added snails to the frag tank and they made short work of the red algae. The algae is easy to pull off, but it always comes back in my refugium and snails will eat my gracilara if placed there. I threw away all infested algae and cleared the refugium of the algae but it seems to come back on the walls but not really on the macroalgaes. When removed from the tank it 's just a big red clump. What type of algae is it? I saw it at my lfs and they said it was a major problem and hard to get rid of but didn't know what it was. I skim heavily, employ carbon, phosphate remover, ro/di, have new mh and pc bulbs I also have 0 nitrate and 0 phosphates. I have red slime remover no-cya-no but I don't know if it's red slime that I have, I'm also not crazy about using it either but I can't get rid of this algae and I believe it's just a matter of time before it reaches the main tank. Will the red slime remover affect macroalgaes or other inhabitents. The active ingrediant is 1-(2-hydroxyethyl)-2-methyl-5-nitroimidazole doesn't sound to good and it says to stop skimming and carbon use for two weeks! Is manual removal my only hope. inland says they just pitch their culerpa when it gets covered by the red algae but they couldn't tell me what the algae was. Should I have pitched my algae? I kept it and it seems unnaffected just the walls of the refugium. Will the red slime remover clear the algae or will it eventually come back. please help thanks

[rshimek]

Hi,

I suspect the algae you are discussing is a type of red slime - or probably a better name = cyanobacteria. It will show up in all tanks from time to time and in some tanks all the time. It - and other algae - are very adept at taking up nutrients so fast that they never register in the water tests.

In essence, you have a lot of excess nutrient in the system - it is just bound up in the algae.

Now, the real problem is how to get rid of the stuff. And it ain't easy. The algae is a symptom, it isn't the problem, the problem is the accumulation of nutrients. The algae are helping to break down and remove the nutrients, so killing them with a chemical simply delays the resolution.

Generally, the best bet to control this stuff is maximally skim. Bot skimmate and skimmer sludge are excellent ways to remove excess nutrients. Additionally, start a program of growing other algae and harvesting and discarding it to lower nutrient levels. Good biological filtration is also a must - a good sand bed or some other means of recycling and removing the nutrients.

It is often a slow process to find the equilibrium necessary to cause the algae to decrease, but it is worth it in the long run.

[rjf]

when you say killing them with a chemical will simply delay their resoluton. Do you mean that the slime algae will simply return since there would still be excess nutrients for them to thrive off of. I had the chaemetomorpha and the gracilara in my sump and the red algae took it over. I skim very heavily with a dual beckett skimmer, only one beckett running though. I get 2-4 liters of skimmate every two weeks or so. I also have anthias so I feed twice per day pretty heavily should I cut down a bit on the feedings? Will the anthias be ok.

[rshimek]

Originally posted by rjf

Hi,

when you say killing them with a chemical will simply delay their resoluton.

You can't kill them off. As with any bacterial infection, what you will do by using the chemicals is breed for stronger bugs. In any marine tank there are literally billions of these bacteria. Even if you kill 99.999999% of them. The survivors will grow back, and this time they will be resistant to the antibiotic.

Do you mean that the slime algae will simply return since there would still be excess nutrients for them to thrive off of.

Yes. That and the conditions necessary for them to use them.

I had the chaemetomorpha and the gracilara in my sump and the red algae took it over.

Try using other algae. :D

I skim very heavily with a dual beckett skimmer, only one beckett running though. I get 2-4 liters of skimmate every two weeks or so. I also have anthias so I feed twice per day pretty heavily should I cut down a bit on the feedings? Will the anthias be ok.

The problem is not the food entry. It is the export. Cutting down on feedings, simply starves your animals that need the foods. You need to get more of the stuff out of the tank.

See my article in the December, 2002, issue of [rk] for some discussion of the various ways to remove excess materials. One of the best is to grow exportable soft corals such as Xenia, as well as various algae.